Zacks Research Downgrades Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) to Hold

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

HWC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Hancock Whitney from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 9th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Hancock Whitney from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hancock Whitney from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $87.00 target price on shares of Hancock Whitney in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.56.

Hancock Whitney Stock Down 0.9%

HWC opened at $76.29 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $72.86 and a 200 day moving average of $69.06. The company has a market cap of $6.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 0.95. Hancock Whitney has a 12 month low of $54.05 and a 12 month high of $79.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04.

Hancock Whitney (NASDAQ:HWC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55. Hancock Whitney had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 11.36%. The business had revenue of $403.57 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $398.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. Hancock Whitney’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hancock Whitney will post 6.45 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Michael M. Achary sold 22,694 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.18, for a total transaction of $1,728,828.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 44,160 shares in the company, valued at $3,364,108.80. The trade was a 33.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christine L. Pickering sold 417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.16, for a total value of $28,005.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 25,066 shares in the company, valued at $1,683,432.56. This represents a 1.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.92% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Hancock Whitney

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hancock Whitney during the 4th quarter valued at about $80,246,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hancock Whitney in the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,463,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its position in shares of Hancock Whitney by 18,614.2% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 535,039 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,071,000 after purchasing an additional 532,180 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its stake in Hancock Whitney by 134.3% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 909,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,941,000 after purchasing an additional 521,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH purchased a new stake in Hancock Whitney in the first quarter valued at approximately $23,071,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.22% of the company’s stock.

About Hancock Whitney

Hancock Whitney Corporation (NASDAQ: HWC) is a regional financial services company headquartered in Gulfport, Mississippi. The firm was established in April 2019 through the merger of Hancock Holding Company and Whitney Holding Corporation, each of which traced its roots to the late 19th century. This combination created one of the largest bank holding companies in the Gulf South region, with a network of branches serving both urban and rural communities.

The company’s core business activities include commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management services.